JAYAPURA - The Indonesian National Sports Committee (KONI) of Papua Province announced that as many as 165 Papuan athletes passed the National Sports Week (PON) selection, which took place throughout July 2023.

The athletes came from 20 sports from individual and team numbers. "There are 165 Papuan athletes from 20 sports who qualified for PON. They are still maintaining their stamina quite well, even though some of our athletes have failed," explained the Chairman of KONI Papua, Kenius Kogoya, Tuesday (1/8/2023), in Jayapura

According to Kenius, currently there are still dozens of sports that will represent Papua in the qualifying round, this August until it is completed according to the set schedule.

He hopes that the athletes who will appear in the qualifying round, can show positive results and win tickets to PON XXI. The results achieved in the qualifying round will provide an overview for KONI Papua to design an achievement strategy at PON XXI in 2024.

"We still have some matches that we will participate in Pre-PON in August and beyond, hopefully, we can qualify all," he said.

It is known, the sport under the auspices of KONI Papua that has ensured qualification to PON XXI in Aceh - North Sumatra, namely Water Skiing (four tickets), male and female Indoor Hockey, male and female Softball, and Aeromodelling (one ticket).

Then Weightlifting (four tickets), Diving (11 tickets), Shooting (14 athletes), Woodball (two tickets), Men's and women's Outdoor Field Hockey, Motorized (seven tickets), Boxing (three tickets), Cricket (one ticket).

This August, a number of sports or disciplines that will compete in the qualifying round include Rugby, Baseball, Chess, Kite Flying, Karate, Muay Thai, Roller Skating, Kempo, Tennis, and Table Tennis. ***